Some People Just Love Dial-up

Despite some cheaper high-speed Internet offerings from phone and cable companies, broadband is still too expensive (or scarce) for many Americans, according to the latest findings from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Of the 10% of U.S. households that still use dial-up access, more than a third say they use it because they can’t afford faster service. And another 14% still use dial-up because it’s the only option available to them.

But 19% say “nothing would persuade them to upgrade,” according to the AP. All told, that’s not too many people — 2% of the population. What’s the deal? Maybe they love the sound a modem makes. Maybe they just don’t care about the Internet that much. As commenter “OC3 for Life” notes, maybe they just need to see it to believe. But as growth slows in the telecom business, it’s a weird marketing and education problem that ISPs will have to figure out to maximise growth.

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